The Creation of Illandal
The world of Illandal is a young world, its arcane lifeblood running deep in its soil and its short history filled with blood and sorrow, as all worlds are. Illandal exists on one of many planes, the Mortal Plane, what most people would call reality, ordered by rules of physics that cannot be questioned. Surrounding this Mortal plane are the Inner Planes, made up of the 4 Elemental planes and the Eternal plane, a strange land of twisted magics and created as the mirror image of the mortal plane, where the fundamental truths of reality no longer apply and the birthplace of the fey and their kind. No one knows for sure how Illandal was created, but the most accepted is that of the Court of Gods, because of the influence of the Empire and the fact that many of the figures and elements of the story are so consistent across multiple civilisations. An extract from Oskar Herzig’s "The Complete History of the Drainarian Empire" "All Cultures have different tales of how Illandal began. In the far east of Herzuenia there are tales of a child born from the glittering stars in the sky whose tear drop formed the seas their land floats on. In the Northern Wastes, Goat footed Shaman speak of a Rock that floated through the Chaotic Magics of our reality, which slowly began to mutate and sprout life. The story told in the Empire however, is much simpler. The Doctrine taught throughout all the lands and nations under the Empire of Drainaria teaches one truth. Before Illandal, there was the Court of Gods. 6 Celestial Beings that stood guard over the 5 fundamental facts of Existence. * First there was Torm. The iron handed Titan that passed Judgement on all things, bastion of Honour and Battle. Second there was the Every Changing Face. * Mystra, charged with power over the mystical magics that held reality together and was tasked with collecting and cataloguing everything that had ever happened, and anything that ever would happen. * Felorr, Master of the Hunt and King of all that grows, always proceeded by the creeping moss that claims all living things in time. Next Was Kelemvor, For if Felorr Represented all that grows. * Kelemvor ruled the things that would grow no more. The god of Death, charged with holding the line between the living and the death, for such things should never mix. * Lastly, came the Twins. Pelor, was the mightiest of the Gods with skin made of Marble and the sun perched upon his brow like a crown. He was King among the immortals, God of the sun and all that mortal man should strive to emulate. Of course, where there is light, there is Shadow. The final god, thought to be the weakest. * Most dangerous of them all was Pelor’s twin sister, Povris. A beautiful being of porcelain, instead of hair, a long mane of Black feathers that tumbled down her back past her waist. Graceful, swift and silent, Povris ruled all that fell far from the light, queen of shadows, Mother of Owls and Patrons of all those who would wish to keep their deeds far from the light. For a time, the Court ruled over the Outer planes of existence that revolved around the Nexus of magic, keeping balance and peace. But Povris grew jealous, all the other gods flourished in the Light of her brother’s crown, but his glory only served to obliterate the shadows she ruled. So on one fateful night, Povris left the outer planes and drifted deep into the Nexus of Magic. She bent and shaped the untempered forces there and over the course of an eon, she forged a new realm for her to rule. She separated the Nexus into their elements, on the first day she harness the magics of battle, of anger and she created Fire, for without fire, shadows would never form. On the second day, she pulled the ever changing winds of magic from the nexus, for she would need to change reality if her plan were to come to fruition. Next she forged Illandal, for all things needed land to stand on and she finally wanted a realm to call her own. Then on the fourth day, she used the magics of water to form life, for what was a kingdom without subjects. Povris created the planes of elements in those 4 days, but her work was not done. On the 5th and final day, she pulled from all 4 of her new realms and created the mortal plane, bringing order to the nexus of magic and a land for her to play her games. She had grown arrogant however and her manipulation of the Nexus had caught Mystra’s ever watching eyes. Pelor, upon Learning from Mystra of Povris’ Blasphemous creation, flew into a rage, for he was the wisest and he alone foresaw the destruction the mortal races would rage upon all reality. He chased Povris across her new creation, his blinding crown crossing across the newly born sky, giving Illandal its first day, for which it would continue for evermore. Povris tried to hide, but as with all things, shadow cannot escape the sun and her brother soon caught her. Pelor raged against his sister, so hurt by her betrayal, asking for her repentance, but she refused and Pelor was forced to create a punishment fit for a god. His mighty hand of Marble reached out into the Nexus of Magic, creating one last realm, a realm of tricks and lies, that would would confound and confuse even the might mind of an immortal god, the Eternal plane, and trapped his dark sister there. But even as he did this, Povris laughed, as she had expected such a punishment and using this world created by her brother. She made one last thing, the fey. Her servants that would work in the shadows, her messengers and tricksters, so that one day she could once again be free of her prison."